AAD: The Bloggers

We’ve talked about the authors. But I have to tell you that my AAD experience was just as much –if not more– about getting to know my fellow bloggers. Thanks to social media, like Twitter, I walked into the con already feeling like I “knew” so many people. It was even better to meet them in person.

The first person I met Tuesday afternoon was the lovely Marcela from The Bookaholic Cat. We hooked up at the hotel and had drinks at Pat O’Briens. Marcela is absolutely beautiful and has the most amazing Colombian accent. I loved listening to her talk. But I can tell you that walking down Bourbon St with her is tough on the ego. Every man on the street was looking at her!

Me, Marcela & Julie

I ended up at dinner that night with Jen (Twimom,) Carolyn Crane, Monica (Obscured Vixen,) Teresa D’Amario, and Katiebabs (who has a real name, but no one ever used it.) Jen and Teresa were roommates and a package deal for most of the con. But I have to give a big thanks to both of them for letting me store all of my goodies in their room for days. Jen was also kind enough to walk me to my car in a less than savory neighborhood more than once. Such a sweetheart!

Monica made me feel old. LOL. She is 27 and full of energy and wore hot outfits and was excited to party hard. My 36 year-old tired ass wore jeans and tennis shoes and was in bed by 1:00 on most nights. But I enjoyed hanging out with her.

Teresa, Jen, Katiebabs, Monica, & Me

Katiebabs made me feel like an author insider. We were always talking about industry stuff and what’s going on with authors on the publishing end. She also really wanted to see the man-candy that New Orleans is supposed to have. (I hate to disappoint, but it’s not exactly as advertised. If I ever see Acheron walking around the city, I’ll let you guys know.) I felt kind of bad that she didn’t get the show she was looking for, but I think she ended up having a good time with what she found.

It was that night I also met Tori (from Smexy) and Nicole. Two great women!! We ended up back in their room, dishing on books and dirty sex into the night. Nicole always had a stealth drink on hand (and let me try her wedding cake vodka… It was… different.) Tori is so tiny! I know she probably hears that all of the time, but there’s a lot of personality in her small package.

Wednesday came and with it, I met Jennifer from The Book Nympho. We chat daily on Twitter, but that did not prepare me for all the times she totally cock-blocked me while I talked to an author.

Me, Sylvia Day & Jennifer

It went something like this:
Me: “Hi, Sylvia Day! It’s so nice to meet you, I’m J—”
Jennifer (jumping in front of me): “I’m Jennifer, the Book Nympho. You know, stomp and romp.”

or

Me: “Hi Kelly Meding! I’m Jen from R–”
Jennifer (jumping in front of me): “I’m Jennifer from the Book Nympho. Stomp and Romp.”

LOLOL. I got her back for it later. I tend to get a bit loud(er) when I drink and apparently, I was yelling her ear off at dinner after the open bar. She may have tweeted about it. God help us at RT next year.

Wednesday is also when I met Mandi (Smexy) and Pamela (from Wicked Lil Pixie.) Mandi is kind of quiet at first, but get a few glasses of wine in there or talk about Damon Suede and she lights up like a Christmas tree. She made me laugh and I enjoyed her so much. Pamela (who is too nice to tell you that she hates it when you call her Pam) is very kind and sweet and genuinely friendly. She, Tori, and I were all on a field trip with Adrian Phoenix and we had a few meals together.

Who else did I meet? (The days kind of blend together.) Julie from Yummy Men & Kick Ass Chicks was adorable. Her hair always looked so cute and in place, while mine frizzed to holy hell. She was sweet and just like she comes across online. I had dinner with Chelsea from VBC who has a gorgeous tattoo on her shoulder. And I convincedMamaKitty to jump on the “OMG, It’s Kelly Meding” train.

MamaMoon, MamaKitty, Eva, Julie, Marcela & Me

I also hung out with Rachel (Parajunkee) who shared one of my favorite stories of the con about a failed love-encounter with a burn-victim. That doesn’t seem nearly as funny in print, but I promise you –at the time– it was hilarious.

All in all, I ate like there was no tomorrow and drank like a fish. I think I went to Pat O’Briens four times –or maybe five. Cat’s Meow was epic. Thank you Jennifer & Marcela for getting on stage with me. And to Loupe for your amazing generosity. And to Tori and Mandi for belting out the songs with me from the dance floor!

The experience was amazing, thanks to all of you… and so many others who I couldn’t cram in to this already bloated post. Hugs to everybody! And I hope you’ll help me bring the party to RT in Kansas City next year.

It’s so nice to finally see faces, now I can picture everyone instead of just twitter avis. You guy are all gorgeous and I’m glad you had a great time! Now stop talking bloggers and authors and post pictures of the important stuff: the food!

Ok. I did not scream Stomp vs Romp to Day. She’s not even part of the event.

I did say that to others like Meding, Haines, Peeler and Carlson because they are part of STOMP vs ROMP!! WHOOT!!

It was awesome meeting you in person and I can only dream of the fun we will have at RT2013 together. I’ll have to think of a blog event to host during May so I can cock block you some more. LOL

And yes Marcela gets all the looks. She was so nice that I didn’t want to trip her because of her beauty. LOL

My hubby watched us online at Cat’s Meow and he was shocked to learn that I got up there without being drunk. He has tried for years to get me up there with him. So you got me to do something that he can’t.

You DID do it to Day. You invited her b/c of her paranormal series. And she emailed you back later saying it got lost in her inbox or something and she said you could be in her next tour. DON’T LIE!!! LOL.

After this post I may need to buy a new bag to bring my ego to Turkey. As I told you on Twitter meeting you was one of the highlights of my trip. I really hope someday in the near future I could enjoy of your company again. Remember you have a house in Istanbul, whenever you want to come visit me.

Yea!! You are totally awesome and I sincerely hope we can hang out again… I promise to go out more! But I’m even older than you, so you have to give me a little slack! Thanks for all of the fun and NOLA info! Come up north and visit me!!

Jen, I do believe that your AAD recaps are my faves. This post made me giggle – and you are so right about Marcela on the street! Every man – every one – was looking at her! I wonder if she notices lol. You were absolutely amazing – meeting you was one of my favorite parts of the con. 🙂